Towards the end of the 20th century, British novelist and critic John Berger argued for the importance of what he called a “pocket of resistance.” Berger suggested that the potential for change is not in the epic revolutionary movement, but in local customs, including the production and contemplation of art.
I thought of Burger after seeing the strange and fascinating new feature “Neptune Frost” by American musician, writer and artist Saul Williams and Rwandan filmmaker Anisia Uzeyman. The film is a fantasia of afro-futuristic, a musical, science fiction parable, and hacker manifesto, depicting a pocket of resistance in the form of a community of rebels in Africa. Surrounded by political violence, economic inequality and cultural alienation, we seek to create a space where imagination and solidarity can flourish. The challenge is formidable, but their commitment is part of what drives and bends the “Neptune Frost.”
It’s also a pocket of resistance in itself, as long as the act of making a movie, and the act of thinking about it, is a critique of how things should be. The protagonist is Matalsa (Kayafrey), who works with his brother in an open pit mine in Burundi to dig up coltan, the mineral that powers mobile phones around the world. After his brother is killed, Matalsa runs away. At the same time, Neptune (Cheryl Icheja and Elvis Gabo), described by filmmakers as an “intersex runaway,” escapes from sexual assault attempts. Their journey finally converges on the hacker’s camp. (“Frost” is the name of the magically brightly colored messenger bird.)
The storyline of “Neptune Frost” is loose and suggestive. It’s not as tight and orderly parable of capitalism and colonialism as a collage of vibrant images, sounds, and words that punch movie themes like hashtags. Williams and Uzeiman combine anarchist politics with anarchist aesthetics to create something that feels both handmade and high-tech, digital and analog, poetic and punk rock.
The hacker’s all-purpose greeting and slogan is “Unanimous Gold Mine.” I don’t know how this phrase sounds in Kinyarwanda or Kinyarwanda (the two languages spoken in the film), but in English it evokes both collective ownership of wealth and universal optimism. For some reason, it captures the sentimental and vibrant energy of the film, a treasure trove of ideas and provocation-a pocket full of possibilities.
Neptune Frost
Unrated. Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Swahili, French, English, with subtitles. Execution time: 1 hour and 45 minutes. At the theater.
